To Catch a Movie
by f1ymeaway
Summary: AU. "I wish we could go to the movies...I wish we weren't like this. I wish I'd met you at a normal high school, and taken you on normal dates, and like, carried your books..."-Archer Cross pg338. Well Cross, that wish's about to come true! But new challenges await as well! R&R
1. Livingston, Oh Joy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hex Hall, Demonglass or anything else of Rachel Hawkin's, be it cottage or flowers. **

**I thought it'd be cool to write a Hex Hall fanfic based on Archer and Sophie's conversation about what-would-it-be-like-if-we-met-at-a-normal-high-school-with-no-magic in Demonglass. **

**I'm playing with this idea and am going to try to incorporate things from the series into it but in a normal high school setting. **

**Ok, honest, I'm no sarcasm queen like Soph and Archer but I'll try my best, which isn't very good so please excuse my fails and if you have any great sarcastic comments or conversations between the two that I could use, I would ****LOVE**** to hear them. No, seriously. **

**The beginning might be slow but I'm just laying the scene out for you guys and determining the atmosphere. Just yell at me to pick up the pace and you've got it ;)**

**HOPE YOU LIKE IT and don't forget that little button you press at the end! (p.s.: it would make my day if you clicked on it )**

Chapter 1: Livingston, Oh Joy

New town, new house, new school, new life, it's how it's always been and I'm betting how it's always going to be. I'll spare you the details and give you the short version. College. Dad met Mom. Mom got pregnant. Dad left Mom. Mom had Me. Mom and Me move around a lot. Got it? Good, wouldn't want my audience to be confused on the first page.

We're driving down Main Street, no seriously that's what it's called. It's like the 18th century all over again. Town hall, quaint old-fashioned movie theater, boutiques, cafés and tiny shops including that dusty old book shop all little towns seem required to have, are all stuck on Main Street and in Main Square. Ok, to be honest, it's not horrible, not like when we had to live behind a graffiti wall in a deformed metal canister but I'm a little grumpy about our sudden move. I was actually slipping into routine and feeling good about where we previously stayed. I had friends and I had a date to a big dance after much persuading on the guy's part. It took him three weeks to get me to say yes. I never want to put down roots but I figured that a guy who would ask a depressed girl every day out on a date for 21 days straight-yes, even weekends-must be worth something. Too bad I'll never know for sure since I ruined that dance, more on that later.

We have arrived at house number 9 of my 17 years of life. It is a little bit far from Main Square but not far enough to be described as secluded. Driving down the dirt path marked by a battered old mailbox I finally see it. Brown with white trimming it has a small gate with an arch weaved with vines of small white flowers. On either side of the small path leading to the front door are colorful wildflowers. House number 9 looks like a cottage and I can't help but like it.

"Sophie, isn't it wonderful?" Mom asks excitedly as she lugs our baggage to the door. I go and help her, "It's a bona fide cottage Mom." I say emphatically.

She smiles in that way of hers that tells me she knows what I'm thinking, "So you like it then? Good. It was cheap too. I saw the pictures online and just had to get it, 5433 Wildbur Way, Livingston." She says satisfactorily. I smile despite my mood at her enthusiasm, "I'm glad you like it Mom." But then add on bitterly, "Hopefully we can stay here for more than half a year this time."

"No guarantees." She replies curtly. Deciding to drop it I unload the rest of our meager belongings. We carry them inside and set them in a furniture filled living room. Everything looks new and pristine, "Whoa! Someone brought in a vacuum cleaner. Do they even have those in towns like these?"

Mom ignores my jab, "They said furniture would be included but I never imagined anything like this!" She looks positively radiant. Sighing I leave her to her incredible disbelief and amazing wonder to carry my box of stuff up dark wooden stairs to level two! I'm betting 20 bucks for flowery wallpaper…and we have a winner! Going for double jeopardy, what flower? Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm a great guesser, how 'bout you? Yeah, if you haven't guessed, they are dark red roses on a light pink background.

There're four rooms and a hall bathroom. The master is to the right and it is equipped with dresser, furry rug, bathroom, king bed and a balcony with a view of our backyard which is a meadow leading to a forest. I smile, some of my moodiness disappearing, it's beautiful. Moving on, I get to the next room, it is filled with mirrors. I walk into the middle of the room and spin a full circle. I can see myself every which way except for a window at the end of the room. Rays of sun shine through and light everything up creating a beauty that isn't lost on me. There're small mirrors, big mirrors, and hand mirrors and wall mirrors. It's curious but a little creepy, makes me wonder what kind of person the previous owner was.

"Mom! There's a room full of mirrors up here! Maybe we could put the wind chimes in here!" I yell in the report just to make sure she's still alive, competent and not deaf.

"Wind chimes!" She yells back. Don't worry, it's routine. Yeah, and we don't have wind chimes.

The next two rooms are bedrooms. One is almost bare, with only a twin bed and dresser, no curtains or rugs or lamps. Obviously I take the other room which has a closet, dresser, desk, queen bed with pink bed sheets, curtains, a fluffy rug of my own, lamps and a door which leads to the hall bath. It's pretty cool. That means there're two doors into the hall bath which I now discover is very roomy and spacious with a bathtub and bath salts included, lavender and rose. Interesting. I check the doorknobs. Yup lock from the inside. It's ingenious.

"I should have known you'd go straight for the bathroom. We have got to stop your obsession with bathrooms Sophia Mercer." I hear my mom say teasingly from behind me.

My grouchiness has all but disappeared so smiling I turn and say, "What's not to obsess? They keep you smelling nice and clean and warm, and also ready for anything boys can throw at you like," I pause dramatically and Mom rolls her eyes, knowing what's coming, "FLOWERS." I start cracking up. When Mom was seven, a little boy, Arthur, who had a crush on her gave her flowers during recess but was so nervous he all but threw them at her and my mom thought they were lizards and ran away screaming. She also washed her hands a million times afterwards too. "Poor Arthur was devastated Mom! You see why bathrooms are so important?"

"Ok, ok come on then. What's that room full of mirrors?"

Still smiling I lead her to the room and she gasps. Great, daze time again. After almost five minutes of personal Mom and mirror one-on-one, we move on.

Finally after a whole afternoon of unpacking and exploring the dirty dusty cellar, we finish the day off with Tap Ramen before turning in for the night.

"You know Sophie, we might be able to stay here a little longer than usual." My mom says yawning before heading upstairs, "Night Soph and don't forget, school starts at eight tomorrow."

"What? You just happen to forget that little detail in our mother daughter bonding time this afternoon Mom?" but by then she had disappeared. Great, school on the second day we arrive in Livingston, oh joy.


	2. What Else Could a Girl Want?

**Merci for the reviews, like I said, they made my day. **

**Let me continue on then. I just got back from New Jersey and staying up late doing a project I couldn't do there because of lack of internet. That is why this chapter isn't as long as I'd hoped so bear with me please. **

**Sorry if she's OOC. **

**DISCLAIMER: Characters and original plots that the parallel plots are based on are still under the mighty Rachel Hawkin's domain.**

Chapter 2: What Else Could a Girl Want?

My mom is my personal alarm clock, no kidding. I cannot wake up for my life if she isn't there yelling at me. Monday morning and first thing I hear, "New things start today Sophie. Be excited!" No, actually it's more along the lines of, "Sophie! Get your but out of bed! Now!" Close enough though.

"Uh huh." I say groggily. Last night I fell asleep at eleven which is actually pretty early for me but that is no excuse for how tired I am. Seriously. At least the bed was soft, I think it's fluffed with down or another super soft animal coat. I never knew what it was like to fall asleep before my head hits the pillow, last night I figured out what it was all about.

After throwing on some new school worthy clothes, brushing my face, applying my make-up, and throwing some pencils and notebooks in my ratty red backpack, I head downstairs to the bright blue kitchen where my mom is cooking something.

"Mom…mom, mom!" I say wondering if she really has gone deaf until she finally turns around looking surprised, "Oh, good morning honey. The eggs will be done in two and we're leaving the house in ten. The school's close enough to walk to but I still need to go with you on the first day."

"Great, but don't expect me clinging to your leg and refusing to let go when you're leaving."

* * *

><p>The school is like a 3 minute drive from the cottage, wow. I spot a weathered old sign that says, Welcome to Livingston High, "I feel very welcomed."<p>

"What was that?" My mom asks.

"Nothing, I just feel welcomed." Livingston High is a small school that consists of three main rectangular buildings set side by side, and four little ones set behind the main three. There are shade coverings on each building, and also a grassy field to the left. It's not as big as a football field but bigger than the normal neighborhood park.

When we park, I don't feel like getting out, even though the sun is shining in a cloudless sky of a November morning. My mom sighs and opens my door for me, gesturing with her head her command of Get out Sophie. "Fine! But I'm still mad you didn't tell me about school last night." I pout, feeling very much like a five year old, "Ugh."

It's seven thirty and not many students are here yet but I do spot a few. There's this trio of three tall girls standing by building number two. They all look stunning in their matching leggings and sweater dresses. They stare straight at me, causing me to notice that they can't hide their emotions very well and are quite subtle. Hmmm. I mutter under my breath, "Ever hear of a new student?"

"Ok, where is the main office? Sophie, do you see any signs?" my mother is in a bout of confusion, "Let's ask someone Sophie. How about that young man over there, he looks nice."

I look in the direction she's pointing and sure enough, he's a "young man" alright, a hot and supremely cute young man. He's tall and looks skinny but you can tell he's strong by the way he's standing there with his shoulders held back and arms crossed. With his mussed up brown hair and dark eyes, I'm going to take a wild guess here and say he's the heart throb even without the football quarterback body status and trademark blonde hair. My stomach says I'm right, those butterflies sure are busy.

I start heading towards the guy and am only a few feet away from him when we lock eyes. His warm brown ones make him so much more swoon worthy but the moment is broken by a large mass of something suddenly plowing me into the ground. I just love my life.

"Oh my gosh! What are you doing? Bad dog!" Because now I can see that it was Beethoven who tackled and is slobbering all over me. The gorgeous guy had run over when the dog approached and now I'm lying flat on my chunky backpack which is on very, very uncomfortable concrete and looking up into his smirking face.

"What?" I snap accusingly at him from my derogatory position, "You wouldn't have done any better if that hundred pound dog knocked_ you_ over." I glare while pushing myself into a sitting position. The guy arches an eyebrow in a challenging way, and right when he's about to say something demeaning and mean, proving that all guys I like are jerks, the dog plows into him and lo and behold, he doesn't fall down! All this happened with him still keeping stupid eye contact with me. While continuing his stupid but swoon worthy expression he tells me, "That took skill."

Beethoven's owner is a guy who does fit the quarterback status quo, whoa. "I'm really sorry. Simon really likes people. Are you okay?" he asks me with such sincere blue eyes my internal eyes widen, "Yeah, I'm fine, guess it's bowling for students Monday huh?" The guy's lips twitch in a tiny smile and nods then looks around, noticing that his dog is halfway down the street. Sighing he looks at me again, "I hope you're alright."

"Me? I am totally fine! Just go after your dog before he gets run over too." He nods again, this guy is not very talkative is he?

"Cross." And again with the nodding, but this time it was aimed at the hot guy. I watch him as he jogs off after his dog and think; okay my luck has run out with the dogs but with guys? I don't know, Beethoven's dad's pretty cute, and not to mention smirky over here.

Speaking of which, smirky is going to say something: "And wow. Bad dog, huh?" Smirky smirks again almost making me blush in embarassment and annoyance, but I don't, with use of much willpower, now _that_ took skill.

"You were physically and mentally prepared for it unlike me who was taken by surprise." I say smartly.

"Yeah, well he was running straight at you for thirty seconds. Not my fault you were too blind to see it." he starts laughing now and making me feel stupid because I'm pretty sure he's laughing about how I was…focused on him. Ok, Sophie, that's it, you are so not going to have a crush on this guy, no matter how cute he is or even how his hair falls into his eyes in a very non-Justin Bieber way. Those words are being emphasized.

I wonder where my mother has been during my life changing ordeal because if she's not around, I swear I might just kick this guy in a place of no sunshine. Holding out a very tan arm to help me up, he says, "You might want to change those clothes…there's slobber all over you."

I ignore the hand, "I'm no two year old and yeah, thanks Sherlock, you're a real detective. I had no idea what this slimy stuff was before you came around." I say bitterly to his amused face, partly because my nerves are still hay wired and partly because there really is slobber all over me! "Ugh!"

"I'm Archer Cross by the way and you're…let me guess. It must be one of those girl-next-door names. Carly? Phoebe? Something that ends with –y." I glare even harder at him because he's right and then…my mother shows up, "Sophie!" Great timing Mom, and again, exactly where were you when I needed you?

Archer Cross' lips quirk once again before walking off with one of those short little waves only snobby English prep boys do, I can just imagine the blazer slung over one of his shoulders, "See you later,_ Sophie_."

Definitely not going to like him, nope, don't even think about it Sophie.

* * *

><p>I got to my first period class late because in the end it took us a very unnecessary amount of time looking for the office and registering and this was all because of Beethoven and that stupid boy. At the office I meet the three beautiful girls who were eyeing me outside earlier. Elodie, Anna and Chaston are their names.<p>

"Hi! We couldn't help but overhear that you're new here and we thought we could show you around." The middle redhead said grinning with friendliness. This is Elodie, the leader.

I replied cautiously, they were looking at me almost evilly this morning but their smiles were are warm and welcoming so I smiled back and said, "That'd be great!" Naturally they went to link arms with me after my mom said bye, pinning me in the middle of their little group, and chatterd away, asking me all sorts of questions. "Where are you from? What's your ethnicity? Do you prefer red or blue better? Do you have a boyfriend? What's your middle name? Sophie, we want to know _all _about you!" I was giving my guy luck a chance to redeem itself which is why I let them carry on until we had to part and they each gave me a kiss on both cheeks, Paris style. I said bye, quickly turned away and shuffled to class, glad to finally be rid of them. The smiles and Barbie perfection was really getting to me, I mean talk about going overboard.

Now, after going through introducing myself to my English class. I take an empty seat next to a quiet girl with pink highlights in her blond hair who is doodling with a bunch of pink pens. She takes a bored glance my way and we lock eyes. She quickly looks away before I can open my mouth.

My day is going just great if you can't figure it out by now. I've met the smart-aleck, Beethoven and his silent owner, the three Barbie dolls, and last but not least, pink girl. Tell me, what else could a girl want?

**So, bad and short I know but I really wanted to get it up. I'll edit later. **

**Tell me what you think!**

**Review, Make My Day, and what's your fave Sophie/Archer moment?**

**:P f1ymeaway**


	3. Sighing

**YIKES! LATE LATE LATE SO INCREDIBLY SORRY SORRY SORRY!**

**You can skip the next few sentences if you don't want to hear an excuse. ARRRHHHH FINALSSS! I will strangle you one day! But…I would never strangle the new puppy we got! I'm so happy! The nine week old keeps us up all night! **

**I tried to make this extra long for you. **

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Chapter 3: Sighing

"Sophie Mercer, welcome to second period World History. I'm Mr. Homer, call me Mr. H. You may sit in any one of the empty seats." _Mr. Homer_, huh, interesting name. The fit middle aged man told me this with a sparkling twinkle in his eyes and a firm handshake. I wonder what kind of class this is until I look for a place to sit and see Archer Cross. My mind thinks _What the heck is he doing here? _while my belly is busy doing triple backflips.

Catching my eye, he winks and I am yet again blown away by how handsome he is. My mantra continues, _Sophie will not like him, Sophie will not like him, Sophie will not like him, _but to no avail, because Sophie likes him.

"Thanks Mr. H." I say politely before following his suggestion. There are two empty seats, one in front of Cross, the other in the back corner. The pros and cons of the former include me being near the guy, and not being able to pay attention. Also, I would be in danger of becoming bipolar due to the fact that I like and hate Archer. The other seat looks disgusting. Even from the front of the class I can see the numerous pieces of colorful gum stuck to its surfaces, making the innocent desk look like a Skittles commercial.

"Hey Soph, sit here." Archer Cross suggests throwing around my name in his mouth as if he's said it a hundred times, and gesturing to the chair in front of him. The fact that he has to voice my actions before I act puts my nerves on end because I was going to sit there anyway. Even sitting in front of the crush you hate is better than sitting on old gum that was inside somebody's mouth that's had who knows what in it. Reluctantly, I slowly make my way to the seat with all eyes on me.

"For the record you're only barely better than gum." I inform him tactfully.

"Believe that all you want Soph_ie_…" He smirks back.

While Mr. H goes on to talk about what's happening, I space out but not enough to be totally oblivious of the guy breathing down my neck behind me. I shift my weight uncomfortably forward, to stay away from the horribly non-rancid breath that smells sweet like peppermint and clean soap. Damn him.

"Damn you." I whisper over my shoulder.

He just raises one eyebrow infuriatingly, "What Sophie? Are you uncomfortable?"

I glare at him, "Only because _someone _decided to start breathing down my neck."

Before he can fire another sarcastic remark back, Mr. H interrupts, "Sophie, Cross, I like that you are getting acquainted but can either of you tell me what I just said?"

We stare at him, neither of us willing to own up to the fact that we weren't paying attention. I would expect Archer Cross to say something, anything but he doesn't. I feel my heart deflate in disappointment; I was really looking forward to a laugh.

Mr. H raises an eyebrow in amusement, reflecting Archer's earlier expression, "I was your age once, don't worry. But at least listen in on the important things, please." He smiles at us, and I smile back, "Will do Mr. H."

The teacher who I have now decided is pretty cool continues on with explaining the syllabus while Archer Cross taps me on the shoulder.

I snap at him, "What?"

"Do you want to be partners?" he asks me and no kidding, my first thoughts are: Gay. Partners. …What? My second thoughts are: You thought that? Close your mouth.

And so, I close my mouth and stare at Archer Cross in confusion, "What?"

"Ok, maybe not. You obviously don't pay attention and can't get any work done. I need someone who can stay on task." He muses dubiously.

"Excuse me? Stay on task? Pay attention? Get work done? If my memory serves me right, I think you're the one who started talking to me," Which isn't true, but I'm so mad I actually like the guy that I'm grabbing anything in reach, "And you're the one who can't control one single dog, plus Mr. H busted both of us, _Cross._" My cheeks are red and though I whispered the whole thing, it feels as if I screamed it. Nothing infuriates me more than a handsome, sarcastic know-it-all who I'm starting to like…

He looks at me, probably enjoying my troubles and I brace myself for an insult but he just explains, "We have to partner up to finish a worksheet. You know; the usual nuts and bolts. You're my partner." With that he dismisses me by leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms above his head allowing me a glimpse of his flat, tan stomach.

I snort and turn back facing forward, intent on ignoring him, forever. Childish? Yes, what can I say? I'm a child at heart.

As Mr. H passes out the worksheets and I hear Archer say that he and I are partners, my eyes narrow. They are at the pint of being beady when I hear MR. H's approval, "Good Archer, make Sophie feel at home, yeah?"

"You betcha Homer." Archer says all buddy buddy. I can just imagine the kid winking and I can't see anymore.

I remain frozen when Archer Cross taps my shoulder and sing songs my name, "Sooo-phieee, hey Soooo-phieee." Everyone else in the room has already started discussing early American Colonial culture so I turn around.

"Okay, let's start then Cross." I say intensely.

He stares at me in open amusement, "Ok," he returns, "Let's start then Mercer." He looks down at the worksheet, "Question number one…"

We work our way through the ten questions that we have to answer in paragraph form quickly with Cross occasionally having to explain things to me on subjects we hadn't touched at my old school. We switch off writing the answers on a piece of binder paper and once when he was proving a point to me and writing at the same time he smushed a period in another line, earning an oh so very nice compliment from yours truly, "Nice shot, _Archer._" I smirk. He just erases the period and puts it where it's supposed to go, "Shut up Soph_ie_."

With no big run-ins between each other asides from the here and there insults, we finish and Archer leans back stretching, giving me another delicious glimpse. Crud, _Sophie will not like him, Sophie will not like him, Sophie will-. _Uh oh, I'm staring, and he notices.

Smirking, gosh he's got a hot smirk, he says, "See something you like, Mercer?"

"Actually, I see a big fat ugly something that I really don't like."

"Really? What's that?"

"Your ego Cross."

"My what? My eggo? Leggo my eggo, Mercer!" He smirks again.

"Yeah. Right." I roll my eyes then realize what he said. I stare at him in shock.

Staring back in confusion, he exclaims, "What? Something in my teeth?" Deciding to give him a few seconds, I watch as it dawns on him. I laugh and think about how he might not be that bad after all.

He raises an eyebrow, "Really Mercer?"

"Yurp. Wow, Cross. I didn't know you could be so mature!" I reply sarcastically, still laughing then, unexpectedly he joins in. His laugh doesn't sound like his previous laughs, it's, and sorry if I sound like a Jane Austen novel, but it seriously deserves this. Cross' laugh sounds melodic but down to earth at the same time. It's loud but intimate and harsh yet kind. I think I've fallen in love with it faster than I decided he was hot and let me tell you, that's pretty darn fast. I can't help what comes out of my mouth next, "Wow," this time it's a small exclamation of awe, "Your laugh…wow." I regret it the moment it comes out. Blushing I wait for the tease, the smirk, the cold shoulder, the snarky comment, everything except what he does do. His cheeks flush slightly, eyes shifting away from me and he coughs in-is it really?-embarrassment.

It's gone as quick as it came, replaced by his previous light and care free expression, the, I'm-King-Of-The-World look. His playful tone makes me question what I saw, "Mercer." Cross says, threateningly teasing me. I gulp. "I'm mature all right." He pauses and his lips turn up once more, eyes twinkling as he leans in closer, peppermint breath caressing my face, "You on the other hand…I think you're the one who has to worry about maturity. There was the bad dog." He ticks off one finger, "Now there's the swooning?" There goes the second, along with my pride, "Come on Mercer, really?" He laughs and this time it's sadistically.

His words hit me in the gut and I pull back quickly, glaring at him, "At least I'm not an egotistical, rude jerk who can't tell his right from left with a name like Archer Cross. What were your parents thinking? You're no archer. You can't even place a period in the right place!" I've given him exactly what he wants, a rise out of me. I don't care though, the idiot hurt my ego and I'm as mad at myself for letting my guard down as I am at him. Forget what I said, he's as bad as I thought. Turning forward and crossing my arms, I flame in humiliation, not bothering to find out what Cross' reaction is.

For the rest of class, Archer Cross stays quiet and I am vigilant with my mantra.

* * *

><p>Third period is pre-calc with Ms. East and Pink Girl is in the class. Another cheer for Sophie, I get to sit next to Pink Girl again.<p>

"Hey." That is my pitiful attempt at starting conversation with the girl, because_ this_ girl has been embarrassed way too many times today. She who is pink surprisingly responds.

"Hey. Look, about last time, I'm sorry I was so rude. It's just that I don't do new people that well, if you know what I mean." She spits out looking at me across the space between our desks with big brown eyes behind thick, black-rimmed glasses that don't look bad with her pale skin and pink streaked snowy white hair.

I smile, "No problem. I know exactly what you mean, trust me, after going to 19 schools, new people become old people."

She laughs, "Nineteen schools? Mind if I ask? It's Jenna by the way."

"Cool, I'm Sophie. I don't mind," I say even though I do mind but I'm not the kind to say that, "We, my mom and I, we move around a lot. My mom hasn't been able to find a very good job so we don't really settle down much." I try to explain as nonchalantly as I can. Still, she picks up that it's a touchy subject and I see pity in her eyes, causing the hatred I have towards my dad grow bigger because ultimately, it's him who got us in this mess.

I try to quickly change the subject, "So, what's the scoop on…um, Cross?" I shudder internally. You can't stay away can you Sophie? Even after he laughed in your face?

Jenna cocks her head and a smile slowly stretches across her face but, oh my gosh, I will never love a teacher more than I do now. Ms. East fortunately starts class with three loud claps before Jenna can say anything.

I sigh in relief.

After class, Jenna and I exchange phone numbers, "Hey Jenna, you mind telling me where the girls' locker room is?" I ask, smiling and looking down at my schedule that tells me I have Ms. Vanderlyden for 4th period P.E.

"Oh and what kind of name is Vanderlyden?" I tag on, horrified.

She gives me an innocent but mischievous smile, "Ooh, you got the Vandy!" I try raising an eyebrow, and fail…again while Jenna ignores my humiliation and pout, explaining, "That's what we call the witch behind her back. I am positive she's 98% evil, just saying. Oh, and she's also the disciplinarian," Jenna makes air quotations when she says disciplinarian, "More like Ms. I-Fell-Into-A-Pile-Of-Dung-So-I'm-Going-To-Punish-These-Students-By-Torturing-Them, ha disciplinarian my ass, all she ever does is lock us in the basement, the dungeon as we call it and makes us organize all this junk. She's an ugly cranky old lady with a gazillion tattoos. I'd keep my mouth shut when you're in her class Soph. Oh geez," the previous silent and doodling girl turned hyper checks her watch, moving a pink bang behind her ear, "Sophie! We're going to be late for class! I'll see you later!"

The girl runs off with a little wave leaving me with a good look of her small retreating pink figure. That's when I remember that she never told me where the locker room was. I sigh…yes, again. Don't judge me, sighing is good for the soul, it lifts off a lot of weight and it's doubly satisfying.

* * *

><p>Turns out that Jenna read her watch wrong and there was actually three minutes left before class started and since it's P.E., we have time to change. Being smart, I find the locker rooms all by myself. Can we hear a cheer for Sophie?<p>

"Sophie!" Speak of the devil. Turning around I see Elodie, Chaston and Anna walking towards me with wide, creepy picturesque and identical smiles. Shoot, I totally forgot about the Barbie dolls.

"Sophie!" They all say again, yes, at the same time too. Resisting the urge to do the eye roll, I smile. Look, I have nothing against them, at least not particularly. It's just that I normally don't hang around girls like them even if they are nice and also, something's off.

"Hey! Do you have the Vandy for fourth?" Anna Gilroy, the short pretty African-American asks.

"Yeah, I do. You guys-" Before I can finish my question, Anna and Chaston cry out in joy together, "Yes! We have it too!"

"…have her too? Guess so." I say quietly.

"So, a few things to know about Vandy," Chaston Burnett , a typical Cali girl, tan, straight blonde hair, and blue eyes, starts to say but I stop her before I have to get another huge talk, "Yeah, I heard. She's a witch and sends kids to the dungeon."

Elodie frowns, "Where'd you hear that from?"

I start walking towards the locker room, "Jennifer Talbot."

"Ok, Sophie. You have got to stay away from her." Elodie says urgently, stopping me in my tracks, "What? Why would I do that?"

Elodie Parris's eyes shine with concern and they stare into mine seriously, "Because, Sophie…her dad's a murderer."

**Long enough? **It's a little over six pages long on Word!****

**How'd you like the Soph/Arch (What's that supposed to be? Sopher? Archie? Haha, Archie)? ****Am I getting into Archie too fast?**

**Tell me how you're liking it. Read, love, **_**review**_**, constructive criticism, tell me about your day…might I go on?**

**Do you guys have any pets? **

**Luv f1ymeaway**


	4. Bitter

**I'm so so so so sorry! I don't think you even want to hear my excuse. I didn't put this on my USB nor email it to myself or upload it onto FF and my mom took my laptop to a place with no internet and used it to try and get internet and I couldn't use it and that's no excuse but I'm updating this now! **

Chapter 4: Bitter

"What?" I say stupidly in reply to Elodie's revelation. "What?"

"Sophie, darling, I'm so sorry." Elodie croons.

I don't really hear her, "Jenna's dad is a murderer? What are you talking about?"

"Last summer, two friends were driving around the back roads at night, one girl, one guy and apparently their car broke down or they ran out of gas or something and the guy was too drunk to get help and the girl didn't want to leave him there. The girl was found dead in a pond the next day and they found evidence of murder. The guy testified against Jenna's dad and he's in jail." Elodie gives this lengthy explanation to my bewildered face that slowly scrunches up in concentration the longer she talks.

"Whoa, wait a sec, what about the guy? Where is he? Couldn't he have killed her? And why would Jenna's dad kill the girl anyways? Why would he be in the back roads?"

"Sophie, killers are killers. I don't know why he did it, for the fun of it? The guy moved and it wasn't him because he was passed out and someone saw him in their backyard. This is horrible. I don't want to talk about it anymore, Anna, Chaston let's go. We're going to be late for class." And just like that the Barbie dolls dismiss me, leaving me horrified and confused.

"Oh and Soph, please, I'm asking you as a friend who cares about you. _Stay away from Jenna_. The girl who was murdered was one of our best friends." Elodie tells me ominously in a sweet tone of voice that gives me the shivers. _Are you sure you weren't the one who killed her? _I think to myself as I turn around to head to the gym when I realize it's actually the way the girls went. I follow their swaying figures and stare at the back of Elodie's head. I wouldn't put it past her, that girl is creepy.

While the "Vandy" is explaining that we're playing dodge ball, I'm spacing out. Asides from Elodie and her little goonies, I share the class with Archer Cross and a bunch of other people I don't know. Vandy is now telling us that if we don't move we get a C for the day and I'm now thinking about the owner of the dog that ran me over. I wonder if he even goes here, I mean he looked like a teenager, maybe a little older than me but considering the fact that he was running after his dog away from the school and didn't have a backpack, I'm guessing no.

"Mercer, Sophie!" a loud, deep, booming voice calls out my name. The voice belongs to my new P.E. teacher who also sports purple tattoos on her beefy arms that you can tell she's tried hiding, a ponytail tied with a scrunchie-eeew-and a face that looks like it's never done anything in its life but frown.

"Over here." I raise my hand and shout.

She beckons me forward with a hand and the crowd parts like the Red Sea to let me through. Archer catches my eyes and smirks. I grimace, mouthing _Shut Up. _

"Now, I understand you're a new student but don't expect me to give you any slack. There are a few rules you need to know about being in my class. One, I don't tolerate weakness. If you're going to be weak, you might as well walk out the doors now. This isn't ballet class." This isn't boot camp either. "Two, I only say things once, and what I say goes which means that no one asks me any stupid questions. Three, my name is Ms. Vanderlyden, and you'll call me Ms. Vanderlyden Understood?"

I nod and Vandy seems to forget as soon as I do leaving me to slink back into the crowd. The three girls shoot me sympathetic looks while Cross just shrugs when I glance at him. As the dodge ball game starts, I get hit out in the first few seconds by Cross. I am horrible at dodge ball.

"Hey Mercer! You're ego's not hurt is it?" Cross asks me with a crooked smile.

I just smile sweetly, "Not as much as yours is going to be when I get back out there…Cross." I know, I know I said I'm not good at dodge ball, but I am good at revenge, and I'll get it no matter how bad my other skills are.

"Come at me Mercer!" he shouts back competitively. I scan the rest of my classmates and notice Elodie glaring at me from across the midline. The expression disappears as soon as we lock eyes. She smiles and gives me a little wave. Okay…weird.

My evil smile is splayed out across my face as I get back in. _Get ready Cross, here I come. _Just to make it clear: I'm not getting revenge just because I'm crushing on Cross, I mean…not crushing. Does that make sense?

Five minutes later my team loses and I don't get Cross. I am pouting as of now, while the ass saunters up to me, shooting me a crooked smile and saying, "I think it's fine to say I won that round? Hmm? What do you say Mercer?"

"Next time, I'll get you next time. Don't worry Cross, I won't disappoint." My smart mouth replies at the same time my stupid heart beats hard…twice, not forgetting what happened earlier, and logical legs walk away. What's my brain doing, you ask? It's beating itself up, again.

After school, I walk out the front doors into the clean open air and immediately see Jenna by the curb, searching the crowd. Keeping my head down and weaving through the mass of people I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around; it's Jenna. I put on a surprised face, "Oh hey! I didn't see you there!" she opens her mouth to say something but I plow on, "Look I really have to run, my mom wants me to meet her right after school. See you tomorrow!" I feel really bad about ditching her like that but the fact that her dad might be a murderer kind of freaks me out, I mean just a tad you know?

Jenna looks suspicious, "You talked to them didn't you? I knew this was going to happen! Ugh, every single time!"

"What?" This is a disaster.

"Elodie and her posse told you how my dad's so evil and horrible and a murderer, didn't they?" she spits out bitterly.

**The story hasn't gone anywhere in this chapter but I'll be faster in my next update. I'll write as much as I can just for you guys…I feel so horrible…I'm such a horrible person. **

**=(=(=(=(=(=(=(**


	5. Al's Pharmacy

**I love you guys! You have no idea how much those reviews mean to me, I was so happy when I read them! So I got to post this chapter a lot faster. **

**Thanks to:**

**m0ckingbird77: You're the best! And to answer your previous question, I'm planning for some parts of the plot to be parallel to the book but right now, I'm just going to see how it goes. =)**

**MITTLE: Cute username =) How'd you come up with it? I love Hush, Hush!**

**Black Hawk1234: =P Love you too!**

**Shastafire: Taylor Swift's my fave! **

**lazyX1000: Thanks! **

**WRITE4living: Well, schmanks =) Lol, hope nothing's wrong…**

**PercyJackson2198: Thanks for reviewing and favoriting! It means a lot to me. =) **

**And a shout out to all the peeps from the U.S., Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, India, New Zealand, Germany, Philippines, and Portugal who checked out my story! (Am I the only one who's interested by the break down by country thing? =) **

Chapter 5: Al's Pharmacy

I pause for a second too long, "What? Who?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Jenna glares at me, "And if you didn't, wouldn't you be more concerned about the fact that I just told you my dad kills people for a living? Don't lie to me." Her voice cracks.

I don't have time to respond before she flings her arms into the air, exclaiming, "You know what? I give up." Then turns and runs away but not before I catch the tears in her eyes. My stomach drops and I make a grimace. What did I do?

As I start walking towards Main Street, my mood gets darker and darker because I feel even more horrible about what happened. It's times like these when I stop and ask why so many mistakes are made in life and opportunities missed. I just want to turn back the clock and change my actions. I don't know why this keeps happening to me, the fact that I am continually disappointing everyone.

Casting depressing thoughts away I look for the bookstore my mom asked me to meet her at. It's called Main Street Books, how original right? A ton of high schoolers are on the street just hanging out, you know, the usual. I don't see anyone familiar and that makes me wonder if the town isn't as small as it seems after all.

Although it's not that crowded I still have to avoid bumping into people and soon, a headache starts forming. It gets worse when a skateboarder zooms past me, almost making me lose my balance.

"Watch where you're going asshat!" I yell. He ignores me. I fume.

Great, I've got to say, this might be one of the worst first days I've ever had and that's saying something. Tracing cracks in the sidewalk to stay focused and calm, I clench my fists before raising my head periodically to look for the bookstore. Can you imagine how relieved I feel when I see Beethoven and his owner? Maybe he can point me in the right direction.

They're headed my way and I make eye contact with those green ones, "Hey!" I say enthusiastically even though my head is killing me.

"Oh. Hi." The guy responds shortly. Beethoven meanwhile is giving me enough love for a lifetime, if you just exchange love for slobber.

I try again, "So, no other accidents happen with Beethoven here I hope?"

"No. Simon's been good." He says again, just as emotionless.

I play it cool, "Simon! I'm so sorry, it's just that Burmeses always remind me of Beethoven and I'm horrible at names. Ask anyone." Except you couldn't because you don't know anyone who knows me; I sigh inwardly but stay perky, "Speaking of names, I never got yours…"

He smiles a little one and extends a hand out, "Sorry about that. I'm Callahan but everyone just calls me Cal."

"Cool, I've never met a Cal before." My head is splitting in half! If I could just find that bookstore! I'm a little bit late responding, "I'm-"

He interrupts me, "Sophie Mercer. I know. It's nice to meet you." I look at him funny because of three things. One, how does he know my name? Two, I feel that he's left an open ending to "nice to meet you". And three, my confused expression makes my head hurt less…as weird as that sounds.

Just for your information, I almost always act on impulse which most of the time gets me into trouble, "How do you know my name?" I meant to ask it in a curious way but it ended up sounding offensive and mean anyway so I rephrase, "Do I know you?"

Callahan, Cal, is now looking at me funny, probably because I have kept the extremely confused expression on my face while also mixing in a thoughtful no-I-don't-think-I've-met-you-before-I would've-remembered-someone-as-hot-as-you look.

"I mean asides from your dog running me over this morning…" I try to salvage.

He raises his eyebrows and smiles in a really cute way, "You must think I'm like a stalker or something." He chuckles nervously, "No, I just sometimes work at the school so I hear things."

Ok, it sounds like a plausible answer and consciously I accept it, but I can't shake the feeling that something's off. But there's no reason for him to lie, I mean he just met me today and he's been so nice to me. Uh oh, all this thinking is making me more confused and my head hurt more.

"Oh." I respond softly, in part to save my head and partly because I sounded ridiculous.

Cal must notice my distress because he saves me by asking the cliché, "So, how do you like Livingston?" and my mouth comes to the rescue, "Oh, it's great, I mean, you've got to love the small town feel, soap opera high school and cottages right?"

That was meant to be sarcastic, mind you and it works, Cal laughs. I laugh. My head says, "Ok, Sophie you're having too much fun." My head hurts. I groan and place my fingers at my temples.

And just like that, Cal stops laughing and turns serious. With a hand on my shoulder, he asks, "Sophie, are you okay?"

I try to regain control of my pain and that usually entails making a sarcastic comment, "Sheesh, that's the second time you've had to ask me that today. Maybe we should keep a tally."

His worried, sincere eyes stop me though and I give him my honest answer, "No, I'm fine. It's just a headache."

"How about this, my dad owns a pharmacy right down the street. Just come with me, I'll get you some aspirin." And right on cue, Simon licks my hand, trying to persuade me as well.

I hesitate, aspirin sounds really good right now… "Thanks but I really have to meet my mom at this place called Main Street Books. Do you know where it is?"

Cal smiles, "Perfect!" Um, did he not hear what I just said? "Main Street is right next to the pharmacy. Let's go." Oh. He starts walking off and what can I do but go with him?

When we arrive, I see that he wasn't lying; the bookstore is right next to Al's Pharmacy.

"Cal…Al, I see what you did there." I say teasingly.

Embarrassed, he rubs his neck, "Actually my real name is Alexander Callahan."

"Okay, so people just call you Cal. Gotcha. Well, at least it's a better name than boring old Sophia."

The bell on the door rings just as he laughs and says, "I think it's a pretty good name."

I nearly roll my eyes, "Well, to each their own."

A man looking in his late fifties comes behind the front counter on the right. His graying hair, laugh lines, and spectacles make a good impression on me, "Hi."

"Hello. Who's this Cal?"

"Dad, this is Sophia Mercer. Sophie, this is my father." Cal introduces us formerly. The man smiles and holds a hand out for me to shake which I do. Hey! I'm not totally devoid of manners!

"It's nice to meet you Sophia. Cal barely ever introduces me to any of his friends, I wonder if he even has any!" Mr. Callahan teases.

I grin and slip into my polite, adult mode, "Please, just call me Sophie and I wouldn't be so sure about calling him my friend. His dog ran me over this morning!" Simon whimpers. Wow, this dog is psychic or something. "My day's been horrible ever since and I blame Cal." Okay, maybe it's not as polite as I thought. And even though I say it humorously, Cal still looks ashamed. I nudge him with my shoulder, "It's okay, I forgave you a long time ago."

Cal's dad chuckles at this and raises his eyebrows at Cal, "I like this one." The boy remains stoic much to my amusement. The older man then winks at me, "Don't worry Sophie, he'll make it up to you. Cal here is a true gentleman."

If I were someone else, I'd blush, but I'm not, so that's that, "Cal-"

But the green eyed one cuts me off, "Hey Dad, Sophie's got a headache. I was wondering if I could snag some aspirin for her."

"Wow, I almost forgot about that." I blink. All this laughing and teasing with Cal has caused my headache to fade into a dull throb in the back of my head that I've barely noticed. Who knew the guy could make me feel so comfortable. Who knew…and who knew I totally forgot about Archer for a second there too. Okay, back track your thoughts Sophie! You don't want to go down that lane with Cal too. _Although_, I start musing, _it _is_ much less horrible_.

As if he can read my thoughts, Cal just grimaces and walks off to get my meds for me. I follow, "Hey Cal, wait up." He's upset about something, that much I can tell and since there's no other way to say it, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about whatever it is that's bothering you."

He looks at me and I hold his eyes while they search mine. I can see him making a decision before he says very sincerely, "Thank you."

I smile sadly while confusing thoughts run through my head and we continue to look for my aspirin because despite it all, I still have a headache. "Here it is! So, how much for this?" I ask as we make our way back to the counter where Cal's dad is sorting out the register. He looks up, "Oh, it's free. Take it as part of my welcoming gift to you."

"You're too kind Mr. Callahan. Thank you." Cal and his father's face darken the moment I say Mr. Callahan but their looks are gone as quick as they came. My spirits sink at this turn of events and our goodbyes are hinted with a sullen tone, well, all except Simon's tail wags and slobbery kiss.

Once outside, I'm spotted. My mother waves and beckons me through Main Street's window and I give her a halfhearted one back. My thoughts are consumed by the mystery of Cal and my own feelings, so much that I don't notice the people my mom is talking to until it's too late.

This day just gets better and better.

**This one's for TheAwesomeOne ;)**

**It didn't reach my standards but I hope you enjoyed it either way. **

**I know you guys are reading this, so reviews would be really, really nice right about now. You'll get virtual cookies!**

**F1y on darlings**

**=)**


	6. Truly Sorry

**You want a spiel? Yeah, thought so, kay, it's at the end if you feel the need. **

**Here we are.**

Chapter 6: Truly Sorry

_Oh no no no, _I think to myself as I burst into the store. All eyes turn to me. My mother's are bright, friendly and oblivious in that motherly fashion we're all familiar with, "Oh, there she is! Hey Sophie! I was just talking to a friend of yours." Gesturing to the person she's standing next to and now I'm thinking about how funny it is that parents always just assume _friend. _Plastering on a fake smile, I slowly walk over, "Hey Mom. Oh yeah…you've met huh?"

Then my so-called friend smirks.

My eyes narrow, and with lips pursed I lead my mother away. It's amazing my friend hasn't uttered a single word since I walked in, not even a mocking Mercer. Well…I'm glad; the smirk was enough to uproot me.

I look back at mom, rolling my eyes but she beats me to the chase, "He's a real catch Soph." And the wink she gives me is awkward and silly.

"Mom!" I whine.

"What? I'm just stating the obvious. I already invited him over for dinner on Friday." Her grin widens as does my mouth, "What?" I nearly shout. I look back to make sure no one heard me but all eyes are set on me…again. When I look at Smirky Face, I can just hear the one thought going through his head, "_This is going to be fun _Mercer."

"Okay Mom," I start as if speaking to an untamed animal, "That, that guy is not my friend and I sure as heck don't want him over for dinner anytime in the foreseeable future."

Her eyes cloud over. I know that look, "Look here Sophia Mercer. I didn't move all around the country just for you to finally meet someone and write them off as beneath you. Don't judge a book by its cover. Isn't that what they say?" she asks rhetorically.

"So what do you suppose you're doing Mom?" I retort.

Her eyes darken even more, "Don't speak to me like that Sophie. He's charming and very, very polite." I grimace, "I like him and he's coming over for dinner whether you like it or not." She ends decisively before walking back to Cross who is scanning the bookshelves pretending to not eavesdrop.

I scoff to myself, "_She likes him. _Ha, as if. He's so far from likable." But my internal voice protests, _then what do you call what you're doing Sophie?_

Shut up.

Thankfully, after Mom sets up the time on Friday-5:30-for Cross' little visit; he leaves without saying a word to me. Oh how I wish he did, that way I could have given him all he's worth. That lying, conniving, puppy hating, near sighted jerk!

"Honey? Are you okay?" My mother asks in a sickening sweet voice. Do you see what happens once she talks to him? She turns from upset mother into: Yeah! I'm having a cute teenage boy over for dinner on Friday! I'm beginning to think I've been imagining it all as a side effect from that headache, but no such luck.

**LINE BREAK IS NOT WORKING AND IS SERIOUSLY ANNOYING ME**

"So basically, I'm sorry." I rehearse to my mirror the first Friday morning of my new life. I haven't spoken to Jenna since Monday and at every attempt, she ignores me and speed walks away like I have the bubonic plague. It's nerve wracking and makes me feel even guiltier for what I did. But today, it's going to be different. Sophie Mercer has had to fend off rabid squirrels and stragglers who wanted more than just food in the slums of Chicago, a simple apology to a girl who won't stay put should be easy. This is what I repeat to myself when I sit down next to her, English, first period.

"Remember. Slums, Sophie. Slums." Murmuring to myself is becoming a habit, I've got to stop but I can't help but utter one last confidence booster, "Chicago slums."

Jenna barely glances at me, disgust in her eyes but there still remain a few shards of hurt. This is your opening Sophie, "Jenna." I whisper.

She doesn't hear me, or she does and is just ignoring me. _Chicago._ "Jenna." I say more loudly and with my confidence returning I plow on before she can get up and move, "Jenna. I'm really sorry. There's no excuse for what I did and said. I shouldn't have lied or doubted you when it's obvious who the real threats are. Look, there's really nothing I can say but thank you…for helping me, and that I'm truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me."

To my disappointment, she does not welcome me back with open arms but instead she pushes me away with a steely gaze. "I really don't care anymore Sophie. I don't care what they say about me. I don't care that they drive all my friends away." She hisses. "I don't _care_ that my dad's in jail and my mom's an alcoholic and that I'm never getting out of this town. I just don't care anymore!" this last sentence is whispered vehemently in my face. I feel like I've been slapped and the sinking feeling that's been developing in the gut area deepens.

Before I know it, my hands are reaching out to grab her shoulders and a scowl develops on my face, "Get it in your head Jenna, nothing's your fault. It's okay to care about things and people can be total jerks about it, but guess what? That's life. It's brutal. It's unfair and all we can do is take a deep breath and work even harder to fight back."

Jenna's expression softens, and my confidence soars but, as any student knows, or kid, for that matter, teachers-adults-always, always have to interrupt, "Girls, stop the chit chat." In the few seconds it takes for me to swivel my head toward Mr. Bryon and back to Jenna, she has already gone back to feeling sorry for herself, ignoring me and taking notes. Have I mentioned how wonderful sighing is?

I don't know how long it'll take for Jenna to come to her senses but in the meantime…_I'm sorry. _I scribble on a torn corner of my paper and quickly shuffle it onto Jenna's desk. She doesn't so much as glance at it and with an exasperated humph that causes even Bryon to shoot me a look, I give up. New lives suck.

**LINE BREAK IS NOT WORKING AND IS SERIOUSLY ANNOYING ME**

So, you know how I've got second period with Archer and I have to work with him? This is how it goes today:

Him: I bet you're excited.

Me: For what?

Him: Dinner with me.

Me: Dream on.

Any conversation we have runs along this script. One could call us sophisticated. I bet he's the one who's excited, excited to make my life even worse than it is. Jerk. Not wanting to waste anymore brain cells on the guy, my thoughts will now turn to the only person who's had the slightest intention of being my friend. Well, that's not necessarily true; she's the only honest _girl._ After much deliberation, with no help from Archer, who thinks it his life mission to annoy me, I decide on the direct approach of pretending things are fine and interesting Jenna in my life. Okay, so maybe Cross does help a little but only with his name, not the sidelong glances, raised eyebrows, quiet chuckles, sarcastic wit, sexy smirk, lean muscles, mellifluous laugh…uh, you get the point. Let's just drop the issue now.

**LINE BREAK IS NOT WORKING AND IS SERIOUSLY ANNOYING ME**

So without further ado, I chase down Jenna at her locker after the last bell. Commencing Plan B.

"Jenna! Oh my god, you won't believe what my mom did! She invited this guy to dinner tonight, and I'm pretty sure we both know him. Guess who." She hasn't looked at me yet, but the eyes show all. She's listening. "You'll be so excited, I swear it. Let me give you a clue, his initials," I lean closer to whisper in her ear, "are A.C."

The shadow of a smile crosses her face while her eyes shift as she thinks. I'm breaking her! Waiting for the reaction takes a while though, hasn't she figured it out by now?

"Oh!" she waves her hands in the air, eyes wide, mouth open, "You can't mean-? I mean-? Like…_Archer Cross_? And your mom? Wait, how?" and I laugh like a madwoman because relief floods my body like a tsunami, the buildings are my blood vessels.

"So?" Jenna prods and with a grin that rivals the Cheshire cat, I tell her exactly how Archer Cross has slithered his way into my life, not to mention my mother's daydreams. Ugh.

Only after I finish do I dare retouch the warming ice, "So…you aren't mad at me anymore?" Jenna blushes and grimaces, "Uh, yeah. I'm really sorry about the whole thing, snapping at you and all. It's just that the Trinity has been driving me crazy for so long and I guess this was the last straw. I thought I found a friend but they just took that away from me too. But what you said to me this morning…thank you Sophie. It knocked me to my senses. I'm just sorry that you were caught in the cross fire. You really aren't that bad." I'm not so surprised by Jenna's revealed feelings, if I were her, it'd be worse. Though, I am surprised by the fact that I'm just alright.

"Are you kidding me Jenna? Just alright?" I smirk, "I, Jenna Talbot, am not just _alright_, I'm awesome! And you know it!"

**I really hope you liked it!**

**Me: Basically, I had a large chunk of this written up like the day after I uploaded chapter five but of course, as I am a perfectionist, it wasn't good enough. **

**It was short and fluffy and just plain not-up-to-my-standards. So I wanted it longer, fuller and more satisfactory. **

**This perfection gene along with my tests, projects (including a video essay), and serious lack of internet led to this late, late, late, late update.**

**I understand that you might not have even read this far into my A/N, that I might've lost many readers because of this and that you may have forgotten what I've been writing about but it's all good. I deserve it =( **

**And thank you to those who have stuck with me and yelled at me ;) and the ones who complimented me to the point that made my heart almost burst with happiness. **


	7. Spaghetti and Marinara

**Okay, guys I think you're going to really love this chapter, I can't wait for you to read it! I know I had tons of fun writing it =) **

**As for the reviews, I love that there are people that love my writing and are willing to review it, telling me so. **_**Thank you, you're angels.**_

**As for not updating, I've been going through some personal issues and I hope you won't hold it against me. **

**Read on!**

Chapter 7: Spaghetti and Marinara

The knock came exactly on time. I swear I've never seen anything like it. What followed after, that is. All the sickening, sweet, gooey smiles appeared everywhere I went and I'm not kidding when I say that I would pay a thousand bucks to never have to watch my mother suck up to Cross again. By the time we sit down for dinner, spaghetti and meatballs, my dear mother has already offered up my baby pictures.

"Sophie, do you mind passing the sauce?" she asks, and I've no idea why as she can easily reach across our maximum occupancy of four dinner table herself. There are three of us. But I guess mothers must be mothers so I pass her the bowl of red sauce.

"Careful, Mercer, you wouldn't want to spill that." A voice whispers. Oh, who could it be, I wonder. But despite it all, his voice still sends shivers down my spine and I glare at him instead of what my body is yearning to do…accidentally dump sauce on him. No, my desires are not odd, not at all. Smiling to myself while still fantasizing, I turn my attention back to my mom who pretends not to notice our small exchange. Like I said, the table is small.

"Here you go Mom."

"Thanks honey. So, Archer, tell me, what fun things are there to do in Livingston?" _None_.

Archer sits up straighter and beams at my mother, here we go, "Well, there is actually a small lake forty-five minutes away." _I'll bet there is. _"Some people say it's not worth a visit as it's situated quite deep into the forest, but for those who are willing, Lake Simon is a hidden jewel." _Jewel? Jewel? Lake Simon is a jewel? He sounds like he's reciting from a visitor's guide. Ha, he probably has it memorized._

"That sounds nice! Archer, you'll have to show us though, we Mercer girls are horrible with directions. Here's an idea! How about we all go together one of these weekends, what do you say Soph?" Mom exclaims.

_No, no, no, no. _"Sure." I smile at my mom.

She turns to Cross, "Archer, you up for it?"

"I would be delighted." Archer says sweetly and I swallow hard. The rest of dinner goes quickly while dread slowly pools in the pit of my stomach, literally pools.

Now, up next in our evening of wonderful festivities is the cleaning of the dishes. Enjoy.

My mother is aghast, "Archer, this is unbelievable. Are you asking me to let _you_ do the dishes? None of Sophie's previous friends were so polite. She better keep you." Dear mother looks pointedly at me. Excuse me while I roll my eyes and maybe retch. "Sophie, you should do the dishes with him. He is your guest after all."

"No, Mom he's _your_ guest." I've barely said anything all night, haven't you noticed?

"Sophie." Her lips are pursed.

"Okay," I sigh exasperatedly, "Let's go dish boy." I start picking up empty plates, and the still half full bowl of sauce. Maybe my dream has yet to come true.

"Dish boy? We're on to nicknames already? Slow down Mercer, I'm scared of commitment." Archer jokes this while my mother looks at me and winks. I don't understand her, one second she's mad at me, the next she wants me to jump the closest available guy.

"Too late Cross, I think my mom's already listing baby names." I retort, setting dishes down on the kitchen counter.

He raises an eyebrow and smirks. This I have discovered is his trademark face for all situations, from laughing at girls on the ground to sucking up to unassuming mothers of innocent seventeen year olds. You wouldn't think it would be effective but Cross is probably practicing in front of the mirror.

"Let's just get this over with shall we? Spending two hours with you and my mother making small talk is torturous as it is." I sigh and try to quickly return to the dining table for more dirty dishes before Archer attacks me or attempts any other variation of antagonism.

But no such luck because Archer grabs onto my arm, and dramatically staggers whilst clutching his chest, "Sophie! I thought our relationship was moving forward! Don't tell me you're breaking my heart already?"

I narrow my eyes at his antics and hit him with a dishtowel, sternly saying, "Stop that."

"Oh, so now we're hitting Archer with dishtowels?" He challenges playfully and narrowing his own eyes, his hand reaches for the pot of plain spaghetti.

Now my orbs are round and large in shock, and with arms poised above my head in protection I shout, "No, no, no!" at the same time I attempt to dodge the noodles but I don't move quickly enough and being a klutz, I slip on the rug on the floor, landing on my gluteus maximus and earning a decorated head of spaghetti.

Stiffening, I slowly utter his name, "Archer…"

"Sophie…" he returns humorously and then quick as lightning, or at least I hope so, I stand and grab the nearest thing, flinging it at Cross. And luckily or unluckily-depends on your perspective-the nearest thing just so happens to be the bowl of tomato sauce. This is an example of the acting on impulse thing I was telling you about. It's a nice characteristic isn't it?

Laughing, I shrug innocently when Archer gives me an accusatory stare with arms held away from his now red t-shirt and face.

"That is just priceless Cross! I need a picture," so I pull out my phone hurriedly, with noodles sliding off my arms and call out to Archer, "Strike a pose Archie!"

He glares at me, I snap the picture, "Sophie, you are going to sorely regret ever lifting a bowl of marinara against me, when I get-" but Cross doesn't get to finish his threat because right then my mother walks in, mouth agape.

"What in the world?! Sophie, why are you covered in spaghetti? And Archer, what are you doing with sauce all over you?" she questions like a drill sergeant.

Archer smiles for the first time since his marinara baptism, "Is it not obvious, Mrs. Mercer? We're having a spaghetti and marinara bath!" he shouts and I start giggling at the absurdity of the situation. I'm having a spaghetti and marinara bath with Archer Cross in my kitchen and giggling, giggling, about it!

"Care to join us Mom?" I can't help but add, "They say the red is good for hydration of the skin." By now, both Archer and I are laughing our heads off and it's that laugh, even in my frenzied state I can't help but notice his laugh. It fills up the room and I watch as it tugs at my mother's lips, and soon enough she's laughing with us and then, I get another handful of noodles dumped on me, this time, by my own flesh and blood.

She giggles, "You look ridiculous Sophie."

"Well no thanks to you _Mom_. We're supposed to be on the same team here!" I shove her and return the noodle-y favor. And when our spaghetti and marinara war starts once again, with red sauce splattering all over our new kitchen, I can't help wondering how we arrived at this point in time. It's almost as if nothing's wrong, not my feelings for Cross, my mother's previous anger for me, or even mine for having to move again.

In the end, we're sitting on the floor, three lined up in a row, licking the red sauce from our fingers. My mother has told us that Archer and I would have to clean up the mess but I don't even care anymore. The boy in question, my so called "partner in spaghetti crimes"-Mom's words, not mine-leans over with a breath that tickles my ear, "I told you this would be fun."

Like the last time we had this conversation, I reply, "Dream on." But not without swallowing first and sending out a prayer that Cross can't hear the breathlessness of my voice.

Then, he smirks.

**Whatcha' think? Up to Archie par? **

**Tell me in a review because I'd really like to know! **

**Sorry if any of you feel that this is a filler, but my story is a romance so hang in there! Much more gooey romance to come ;)**

**Alright, I think that's it, wait oh yes, question:**

**Anyone excited about The Perks of Being a Wallflower movie? I know I am!**

**And what do you think about the new cover for To Catch a Movie? I'm no photoshop pro but I'm quite proud of how this turned out! **


	8. Elephant Girls

**Oh my goodness, thank you SO MUCH for all your support! I really appreciate it because I don't deserve it =/**

**I'm really sorry, really, really sorry.**

Chapter 8: Elephant Girls

Jenna screams, sending me shooting off the park bench and my books onto the concrete.

"What?!" I exclaim, "What happened?" The girl is flailing her arms wildly and staring at me with a crazed expression. I half expect to see white foam frothing from her mouth.

Her doe eyes widen, "Sophie…I just had an epiphany that can only be described as incredible." She slowly shapes each word out and I roll my eyes; oh, the cost of being friends with the dramatic.

We had come to the park to _calmly_ sit on a bench and study for tomorrow's English test when Jenna decided to spaz out. I should be used to these outbreaks by now, it has been one week since our makeup and the dinner with Cross leaving me with that one week's worth of Jenna's quirkiness discovered. And let me tell you, there's a lot.

Stooping to collect my things I breathe out, "What is it then? I'm dying from anticipation," The useful communication device of sarcasm, loving it since 1995.

"Halloween party!" She says in excitement.

I smile in affection, "Jenna…you do know it's almost December, don't you?"

She stares at me blankly, "So…what's your point?"

"So, Halloween was in October. What's with having a party now? Besides, it'd be no fun." I inform her matter-of-factly.

"Are you kidding me?" Jenna's pink strands of hair are almost standing on end, poised to attack me. "Girlfriend, you've obviously never been to one of my Halloween parties. Well, I haven't exactly had one before but it would be amazing, I know it." The girl wraps an arm around me and sweeps out with the other, "Imagine, skeletons in closets, apple bobbing, everyone in masks, ghost stories under the moonlight…" she sighs.

"You, my friend, have problems." I laugh. "Come on, we've got to study."

"And for dinner we'll have spaghetti, meatballs and a dash of Archer Cross." She says wagging her eyebrows at me. Ever since I told her about the incident, Jenna has gone on a non-stop teasing spree. It's worse than when I told her about the catastrophic dance at my old school. You know, the one with the guy who I could've really liked had I not crashed the party by being the stupid person I am. Well…make your own judgments.

We had arrived at the dance at seven, a normal enough time and my date was the sweetest and as one of the sweetest, he went to get some drinks whilst I went to "powder my face". During the powdering session, I heard a sob akin to the mating call of an elephant, or what I imagined the mating call of an elephant might be. (No, seriously, I looked it up and BBC says it's an ultra-low frequency call that travels long distances.) Regardless, it was coming from a bathroom stall, so naturally I said, "Um, hello?"

I got another mating call for an answer. I asked her if she was alright, which, obviously, the answer was NO. Then she told me her story. A football player asked her to the dance, she was ecstatic, they get here, and he gets fifty bucks for bringing her, yada, yada, yada. I felt bad for her though, truly, and being the good hearted person that I _was_,I decided to help this poor elephant mating call of a girl.

I told her to go to the DJ, ask him to play a revenge song, then get on stage and tell the whole world what the jerk did to her. She followed my advice, everyone laughed, _Oh ha ha, there's even a stand-up comedian for entertainment. _And then, she went berserk like a rampaging elephant (I swear she must be related or something.), knocking over the table of refreshments, drenching me in the process, and then she took a stainless steel fork and stabbed the football player's thigh.

This all happened within the space of, what, ten minutes? My good-heartedness was ruined and my first serious date as well. You can imagine my bitterness. The moral of the story is: DON'T HELP THE GIRL WITH THE ELEPHANT MATING CALL OF A SOB, SHE'LL MOST LIKELY TURN INTO AN ELEPHANT.

After telling Jenna my little narrative, she also went berserk, with laughter. Needless to say, Jenna finds an abundance of amusement in my agony. The vocabulary word to describe that is schadenfreude: a German word also used in English meaning malicious joy in the misfortunes of others. My dear friend is a schadenfreude pro.

I may have exaggerated a bit about the elephants, definitely not the schadenfreude, but regardless, the point is, "No Halloween Party Jen, period. Also, no more bringing up Archer, you know I don't do well with parties and especially not with guys."

**So I've been sitting on this since I last updated and I have no idea what happened between then and now. I think it may have been writer's block because all of a sudden I couldn't see further than the next word and it was FRUSTRATING. I still need to give you something so I'm going to move on from this pathetic filler of a chapter that trapped me in time and start working on new ideas and plotlines and jokes and romance and movies! Ciao, hope you aren't too mad…**


	9. Curious

**HELLO PEEPLEZ! SORRY SORRY SORRY!**

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**Or Goodreads (I love that site, ehehe)**

**Anyway, on to the chapter! **

Chapter 9: Curious 

"4." He said.

"8." I countered. Before you get your panties in a twist, we aren't rating by hotness, I don't roll that way. We're rating by cuteness.

He crinkles his nose, "Seriously, you think greyhounds are_ that_ cute?" His eyebrows are drawn together questioningly, it's adorable, "But they're so skinny and though it's hard to admit, sometimes scary."

Pursing my lips, I glare at him before playfully slapping his arm, "I thought you were a lover of all dogs! Greyhounds are very sweet and playful."

"Hey! I didn't say I hated them, just that they really aren't…cute. Their mouths with all those teeth kind of remind me of a dinosaur, in particular, the velociraptor. Remember Jurassic Park? " He replies.

I contemplate his words while reaching for another one of the green skittles in the Ziploc between us, "You've obviously spent many a nights comparing dogs to dinosaurs." He's about to protest but I cut him off, smiling I say, "Don't worry big guy, we all have our little guilty pleasures."

We're sitting on the same park bench that has become the studying location for Jenna and I. Occupying it with me now is someone I managed to bump into while waiting for my fashionably late best friend and I use the term lightly. Best friends aren't supposed to be an hour late to a history cram session, remember that. But please don't ask me how my new friend and I got on to the subject of rating dog cuteness because I honestly don't have a clue. All I know is that everything just seems so much easier and happier when we're talking. For once I don't really have to think about what I'm saying and miraculously, my sentences still sound normal. My surrounding s, the ravens cawing, leaves bouncing along the cement and the wind in the trees come together in perfect harmony. I feel the cold but I also feel the slobber from Simon's licks and most of all I feel the warmth of a pair of green eyes. Ugh, I'm getting cheesy aren't I?

The thing is I never expected to run into one of the two hot guys I've met since arriving in Livingston, at the park. I probably should've anticipated it though because you know, lots of people tend to go jogging with their dogs at parks. That's the reason why I should not have nearly spit my coffee out at the sight of him waving hello.

"Oh my-hi! Cal!" I had jumped out of my seat at his approach. "What are you doing here?" Though clearly he was on a run, hence the sweating, sneakers, dog and the fact that he was about to jog past me.

Short of breath, he managed a quick hello, "Hey Sophie, I'm just exercising with Simon here. How about you?"

And the rest is history. Speaking of which…

"Sophie!" Jenna screams across the park, perhaps a mile away even. But I can hear it just as clearly. Still screaming, she makes her way over to the bench while lugging what looks to be a child. "Sophie, Sophie, Sophie I'm so sorry! My aunt dropped in from nowhere and I have to babysit my cousin Joey while she and my mom have a girl's day out."

Cal is watching her humorously and whispers to me, "Is she always like this?"

I give a little laugh, "Oh yeah."

Jenna arrives in time to mark me with a glare, "Sophia Mercer, are you laughing at me?"

I grin at her and turn to the small, brown haired, brown eyed cutie grabbing onto her hand. Before I can decide what to say the child, Callahan has swooped in and stolen the show by bribing Joey with my bag-I repeat, _my bag_-of hand-picked green, orange and yellow skittles.

Jenna plops onto the bench beside me while Cal shows five-year old Joey how to play fetch with Simon.

_Jenna, don't ask…_

"So…do I really have to ask?" Great, she asked. "They're just following you like puppies aren't they? This must be a record."

"For what exactly?"

"I don't know. But anyway, listen Soph, I like them both too but I like Archer better. You guys are just so perfect. Have you seen yourselves?"

I cut in, "No actually, cuz you know, I can't exactly _see _myself." Jenna just ignores me and plows on.

"It's like the both of you gravitate towards each other and then you have these incredibly witty conversations filled with irony and you can practically feel the underlying tensions. It's just so perfect!" She sighs.

"Underlying tensions? Really?" I reply incredulously with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Yuh huh, really Sophie. I can't describe it properly; you have to see it for yourself."

Shaking my head I tell her once more, "Again, I can't really see myself here Jen. Also, I'd really rather not think about the romantic prospects of Cross and I because it makes my head hurt."

Incredibly, Jenna's large eyes widen more, "Sophie! You really do like him!" She nearly screams and it's loud enough to garner the attention of the two boys and dog on the grass. Somehow, looking into Cal's shadowed green eyes, I feel guilty that he heard those words. Enough so that I begin to get flustered, "Um, Jenna, I think we should go now. It's too late to start studying anyways and I have to get home to help my mom with dinner. Also, I don't think we should let Joey tire out Cal and Simon."

Cal looks at me curiously, "Oh I don't mind. Simon needs the playtime." And right on cue, Simon goes dashing off across the grass to fetch the ball Cal threw, with Joey close on his heels.

I snort in amusement. Well played Cal. "I mind, so I'll be going now." I reply a bit too harshly, "Bye Jenna, love ya. Bye Cal." I say hurriedly, leaving no time for a response, leaving also my precious skittles. That's how much I hate the situation.

Jenna grunts and shoots me her we'll-be-talking-about-this-later eyes before giving me a life threatening squeeze goodbye. After that, I hurry off before anything more awkward can occur. But to my chagrin, the awkwardness awaits me at home.

Surprisingly, my mother has made dinner early and the table is all set when I step into the dining room. There is even a bouquet of roses acting as a centerpiece. At this, I become suspicious.

"Mom?" I tentatively call out.

"Honey, is that you?" I hear her voice echo towards me from upstairs, "Don't move!" She shouts with excitement laced in her tone.

Sometimes she can be a bit eccentric at times but I love her so I humor her…most of the time, "Okay Mother but just so you know, I'm starving and the food smells enticingly delicious!" I shout back.

Before long, her blinding white smile is upon me and I am graced with another tight hug, "Sophia," she sing songs, "You are going to be so happy!"

"Mo-om," I sing song back, "Would you tell me already?"

My loving mother giggles and tells me to go look at the roses. I'm curious as to what they have to do with this eccentricity but at the same time, an extremely bad feeling is settling itself into my nervous stomach.

Oh.

_Mercer, _

_ I had fun with you at dinner last Friday. I always have fun with you. School hasn't been so boring with you around now and this is my way of saying thanks. (Don't make a mess.)_

_Cross_

_P.S. When do you want to go to Lake Simon? _

The words are typed up on thick cream cardstock inside a small blank satin envelope that was placed on the red roses. I don't know how to feel about this, just that part of me is disappointed…so my default mode kicks in.

"HE GOT ME FLOWERS?!" I scream in disbelief while my cheeks blaze up.

Thankfully, dear mother comes to the rescue and tilts my world back to normal, or as normal as it can be, by saying, "No, I did." She's smiling and holding back a laugh, gosh she's enjoying this too much.

Simmering down, my thoughts knot in confusion, "Okay…if you got me the flowers, what did Cross get me?"

Mom's finger points towards the kitchen.

Looking around inside, all I see is dinner, which just so happens to be spaghetti with marinara and meatballs. Three minutes later I'm still lying on the kitchen tiles laughing and crying with happiness.

**So, so, so?**

**Whadaya think?**

**=D =D =D**

**Also, what're your favorite websites? **


	10. Get It Together

**I didn't know people still read this…so here's something I had written up shortly after the upload of my last chapter. Maybe I'll be able to write another chapter soon. Happy New Year and Merry Christmas **  
>The next day, despite being Sophie the queen of sarcasm, I find myself nervous about going into school and facing Archer. As I have mentioned before, I really don't have much experience in the dating aspect of life so a situation such as this one is unprecedented.<p>

"Sophie!" my mother calls out while I walk into the kitchen, "Take your toast, and here's your water, and here's the time you wasted upstairs thinking about Archer, and here, let me give you a hug before you run to school because you're late."

"Mom!" I exclaim, annoyed by how intuitive she is and how she so casually teases me, "I'm leaving now."

She only smiles sweetly at me then cheekily adds, "Don't come back without your virginity Sophie." I gag and run out before she can embarrass me even more. My mother's going to take me to my grave one day.

Walking into class seconds after the bell has rung; Mr. H gives me a wink, letting me know I won't be marked tardy. Sometimes it's nice to have such a cool teacher who doesn't give me a hard time for coming in late. But on the other hand, Archer seemed to have not gotten the memo to take it easy on me. After finally maneuvering my way into my seat behind him, he turns and gives me a condescending look, "Sophie, late again? Did you have trouble getting out of bed this morning? I know dreaming about me is fun…" he smirked, "but honestly, academics are slightly more important."

I snort and almost blush, what was I even worrying about; Archer is just as infuriating as always even though he is half right. Nothing has changed, as long as I pretend I never received that note or that food I can be normal, so I look him straight in the eye and jest back, "Yeah, the sight of you burning to death was too enjoyable to wake up from."

He chuckles under his breath and I try to stop myself from smiling proudly for making him laugh. Get it together Sophie.


End file.
